Science about to prove the existence of life outside of our planet?

We have had a number of amazing developments in Science recently that to me has massive implications.

We have found water on Mars and evidence of past oceans on the surface. Fragments of rock from Mars possibly containing fossilized bacteria and now,
it is the opinion of many people within the scientific community that it was once very much like Earth today.

The moon Titan has a atmosphere, and there is a belief that there may be enough organic material for life to start.

All of these experiments have led to the suggestion that enough organic material exists on Titan to start a chemical evolution analogous to what is
thought to have started life on Earth. While the analogy assumes the presence of liquid water for longer periods than is currently observable, several
theories suggest that liquid water from an impact could be preserved under a frozen isolation layer.

Add to this the fact that we have detected the signs of lighting in the atmosphere and that we believe lighting was what sparked the chemical
reactions that led to the origins of life on this planet. link

Furthermore just today news has come out that Cassini may have already collected the data to prove there is life on the icy moon Enceladus. Data
collected by recent flybys through the plume of icy water ejected from the surface suggest that there is a strong possibility life may exist under the
surface in deep oceans, all we need to do is look through the data.

The Cassini probe may have already collected data that could reveal the presence of life on Saturn's moon Enceladus, a new study argues. But mission
scientists say teasing out the subtle signature of life may prove difficult.

"If you think about what you need for life, you need water, energy, organic material, and you need nitrogen, and they're all coming out of the
plume," McKay told New Scientist. "Here is a little world that seems to have it all."

Given the fact we know of bacteria that can survive at the deepest depths of the oceans, in nuclear reactors and even in space I believe it is only a
matter of time before we prove that life is out there.

Okay, little single celled organisms or bacteria don't sound like much but if we can find life on planets and moons then the only conclusion we can
reach is that the Universe must be teeming with life. This will have to be accepted by mainstream science and the media. The evidence will be
undeniable.

This is only considering that life out there is very much like our own which I think is very improbable. Evolution could lead to very different forms
of life developing on other planets or moons. We are carbon based lifeforms, however other forms of life may be out there. (Silicone based lifeforms
etc)

If the Universe is teeming with life then the idea of Aliens visiting us now seems much more plausible to even the most skeptical person. This
changing of opinion I believe will be very strong and will perhaps be the pressure needed for the truth to finally come out. For governments to reveal
all that they know. Just look at the impact of recent rumors that the White house had been briefed about the Phoenix lander detecting life.

The flavor of the title of your thread is one that I might normally pass on, thinking that it was a single-sentence question with no support..... but
you came through, with lots of thought-fodder and links and information ...... and I thank you, for reminding us that the foundations of life as we
know it are all around us, such as Callisto: science.nasa.gov...... so if life as we know
it is abundant, then perhaps if we hypothesize about life as we DON'T know it, then perhaps -- as you said -- the multiverse is teeming with it.

And that's just within the dimensional variables that we can perceive. WOW.

Thank you, there is so much to talk about, I'm certain life is out there. Theres billions of stars in this galaxy alone and we are finding that
around almost all stars there are planets. There are billions of galaxies in our Universe and potentially multiple universe floating around in the
multiverse.

As the techniques for detecting planets get more accurate we will find more than just gas giants but planets and moons just like our own.

Its only a matter of time before the mainstream realizes that we are not alone. It should be interesting to see how people react.

This one thing I'm sure of: the first extraterrestrial life they will "discover" it's going to be a microorganism. They have made a lot of effort
over the last ten years to make everyone think that some form of microscopical life is conceivable inside our solar system... it's just the first
step (if conspiracionists are correct) to disclose UFO's or advanced lifeforms...

What I'm trying to say is that it's very likely they already found life (primitive and advanced) and they're just waiting to disclose it when the
time is right for their agenda, whatever it may be.

It's just too coincidential that they will "discover" first some, tiny, defenseless lifeform instead of some advanced (advanced of course means
scary, dangerous, unpredictable) beings...

Life is sprouting up in some unusual places. Under my toe nail, in my fridge door, and now in space? Everyone know's that we are alive right?
Doesn't that alone prove their must be life other place's?
I see it being a very good year for life, family and MMA fighting.
Keep up that warrior spirit!!!

Originally posted by seb2882
This one thing I'm sure of: the first extraterrestrial life they will "discover" it's going to be a microorganism. They have made a lot of effort
over the last ten years to make everyone think that some form of microscopical life is conceivable inside our solar system... it's just the first
step (if conspiracionists are correct) to disclose UFO's or advanced lifeforms...

What I'm trying to say is that it's very likely they already found life (primitive and advanced) and they're just waiting to disclose it when the
time is right for their agenda, whatever it may be.

It's just too coincidential that they will "discover" first some, tiny, defenseless lifeform instead of some advanced (advanced of course means
scary, dangerous, unpredictable) beings...

Its possible it is all part of an agenda. Some people still want to believe that we are unique in this Universe. The impact of discovering we are not
alone, even in a small way cannot be understated. It may not be long before we do find life on other worlds.

Either way, if its part of a wider agenda or not, I believe the ends will be the same. The interest in the UFO subject will grow dramatically and
people will ask, "what does our government know and are we already being visited".

I posted a similar article the other day on Titan, regarding the discovery of Earth-like electrical phenomenon in it's atmosphere.

But it could be more than just microbial life that our astronomers find someday soon. We could discover signs of astroengineering. Austrian
astronomers Ronald Weinberger and Herbert Hartl published a paper, the result of a twenty-five year study, titled "A Search for 'Frozen Optical
Messages' From Extraterrestrial Civilizations" in the inaugural issues of the Journal of Astrobiology. Just as we shape our environment on
Earth to fit our needs, Weinberger and Hartl speculate that a sufficiently powerful alien civilization could do the same, but on an astronomical
level. These works would be visible over great distances. Weinberger and Hartl concluded that while there were peculiar objects in our immediate
vacinity (10,000 - 20,000 ly), none thus far appeared to be artificial, insofar as we can tell.

However, the implications are that with further research and advances in our understanding, it may be only a matter of time before astronomers do find
something that can only be explained as the work of an intelligent hand.

There has also been efforts to signal any dormant or passing Bracewell probes.

Originally posted by seb2882
It's just too coincidential that they will "discover" first some, tiny, defenseless lifeform instead of some advanced (advanced of course means
scary, dangerous, unpredictable) beings...

Not coincidential in the least. There are far more microorganisms on Earth than larger, more complex beings. So it would stand to reason that this
would be the first life we find, especially in what could be considered primative ecosystems.

The Drake Equation is often tossed out as a formula for "guessing" at the possibility of life elsewhere. Unfortunately, it suffers from
having only a single known factor; that being "1", as in the number of celestial objects known to have life.

Now what happens if that variable becomes "2", within a single solar system? Think of the implications of having that variable become "3". In my
opinion, the potential for life developing into tool users, societies, and cultures, becomes staggering.

We are a freak of nature. All life that exists outside Earth is inhuman, by that I mean bacteria. Earth just happens to be lucky and the only reason
life exists on Earth is because of the conditions. We're just lucky. As soon as the Ozone layer is damaged and flares from the sun are no longer
blocked, we're screwed.

Originally posted by hStripe
See this animated gif i found on Cassini closing in on Enceladus.

See the thing coming in on Enceladus' 10 o'clock and take a right turn before hitting Saturns moon ?

Yes, that is cool. Didn't see it at first, just thought it was a great animation, but I watched it again and I noticed the 'foreign body'.

Personally, I agree that NASA has already found something, be it microbial or humanoid...or something else, but they are stalling for reasons
that aren't for this thread. Either way, I agree, that this will lead to the inevitable disclosure of extraterrestrial life, no matter what the
form.

A thread that was opened a while ago, stated that NASA has briefed the president, on findings relating to the Phoenix lander, alot of people started
to speculate that this was about the discovery of life on Mars (remember, the 'growth' on the leg?), but due to lack of sources, it got buried under
reuests for sources, proof or outright abuse, this just reminded me of it, are they building a case?

Great topic! This is truly what is at the core of "life out there", and perhaps not aliens visiting our planet, even though I do not deny that
something is going on with that.

But this is much closer to home, to reality, to what will inevitably happen in the next couple of decades - the discovery of extraterrestrial life in
the form of bacteria. This is truly a great time to be alive as the human race finally realizes its place in the universe aka so small and
insignificant.

This content community relies on user-generated content from our member contributors. The opinions of our members are not those of site ownership who maintains strict editorial agnosticism and simply provides a collaborative venue for free expression.